These Threads That Bind US
by xSilence
Summary: Regardless of a rift in time, some bonds can never be broken, some destinies can never be denied, and true love prevails through the darkest of hours. Kirk/Spock, Sulu/Chekov, Bones/Uhura, future mpreg and fluff. Rated M for later chapters


Chapter 3

"As you can see Captain, I am not suffering as much as you would believe" Spock declared once he had made it onto the bridge. He handed the piece of paper to the skeptical looking Kirk and arched a brow.

Jim read over the sheet and glanced up at Spock, his blue gaze unrelenting with his deep seeded worry.

"Very well, Mr. Spock" the captain finally conceded as he discarded the sheet into his personal shredder "Take your seat"

"Thank you, Captain" Spock nodded once respectfully. He turned on his heel and almost breathed a sigh of relief once he took his rightful place overlooking the monitors of his post.

"Pardon me folks, I need to step out for a moment. Mr. Spock, make sure these hooligans stay in line" Jim teased a little "Especially Sulu, you know how he gets" this elicited a laugh from the crew and directed light teasing towards the pilot.

"Ah yez, he iz zuch a bad boy" Pavel smiled. He leaned over to steal a quick nuzzle from the pilot who blushed.

"Ah, well. You know how we fencers are" Sulu grinned.

Kirk grinned and shook his head as he stepped onto the holodeck and closed the door for privacy. He had one twisted crew. Efficient, but twisted all the same.

"Bones, are you there?" his voice boomed into the communicator on his Starfleet badge.

"Where else would I be, Jim?" the grumpy sounding doctor answered back almost immediately.

"Just double checking to make sure you're not hiding on me" the young captain chuckled before clearing his throat and taking on a more serious tone "Your note said to contact you, which I had intentions of doing anyway. Spock's condition, what can you tell me about it?"

"Honestly Jimbo? Not a damn thing" McCoy grumbled. H sifted through his patient's test results "Other then lost weight, there's not a whole lot here. There's some elevated things, like blood pressure, a steady stream of some chemical I can't indentify, but as far as Vulcan standards go it's such a small spike it wouldn't have such adverse affects on him".

"Wonderful" Kirk sighed. He rubbed his face with one hand in silent defeat. Great, his friend was sick and nobody had a fucking clue what it was or how to help him. "Well Bones, it's gotta be something. Spock doesn't….he doesn't act this way. He just doesn't."

"Maybe it's just stress" Leonard offered optimistically "Sometimes the monotony of duty gets to people, you know? Spock does his job and he does it very well. He could just be burning out, even Vulcans get tired I'm sure. With a brain like his I'm sure doing the same kind of activities gets boring"

"Keptin!" Chekov called from the bridge "Ve are picking up distress signels from ze owl nebula. It haz a Starfleet signeture but ve 'ave not been able to make contact. What are yur orderz?"

"Huh….you know what Bones? I may have the cure for a bored mind. Thanks. Kirk out" Jim opened the holodeck doors and reentered the bridge. He returned to his seat and took on an authoritive look . "Whatta' we got?"

"It's a Starfleet signal, Captain" Nyota explained as she continued to examine the signal on Chekov's behalf "It's weak. The ship it's streaming from is more then likely on it's last power reserves and can no longer broadcast galaxy wide. If we use the jump drive, we'll be at their location in under ten minutes. They seem to be in the center of the Owl Nebula star cluster"

"You heard the lady, Mr. Sulu. Get us there asap!" Kirk grinned as he sat back in his seat.

"Zulu doez verk very fast" Chekov blushed a little, a giggle rising in his throat.

"Hey now, none of that you two" Kirk scolded.

Again Spock found himself fascinated by the easy interactions of the pilot and navigator. How was it that even in a potentially dangerous situation they so easily kept each other relaxed and…happy?

"Preparing for warp jump" Hikaru spoke into the intercom system, preparing the rest of the crew for the slight 'bump' the ship tended to make when breaking the speed of light.

Jim kept Spock in his peripheral vision. Bones was right. He didn't seem noticeably off in his mannerisms and that only inspired more worry to well in the captain's gut. If Spock were truly hurting or miserable or unwell, would he say anything? Or would he try to do the honorable thing and muscle through it like a jackass?

Psh, like a jackass. That was easy.

"Dropping out of warp speed" Hikaru announced "Be prepared for a bit of turbulence, we'll be coming out in a thick concentration of solar dust. No reason to be alarmed. 3, 2, 1…drop"

Immediately the Enterprise shimmied and swayed a little with the debris she was slamming in to. But with Sulu's gentle hands at the helm she came out with little more then a few dizzy crew members who hadn't heeded the warning.

"Powering the external lights" Spock said aloud. He flipped the switches for the spotlight mounted on the front of their beloved vessel.

"Oh….my lord" Nyota covered her mouth at what she saw.

A Starfleet ship, similar to Enterprise in make and model sat 'docked' (which was the term used for a stationary ship) within the bright clouds of the nebula. Its exterior was heavily damaged and was covered in what appeared to be burns.

"What the hell…?" Kirk wrinkled his nose as he leaned forward, staring at the ship "Uhura, can you make contact?"

"Negative Captain" she shook her head "I've been trying since we entered warp speed. By the looks of it….if there is anyone on that ship, they may not be able to get to their communication devices, or they may not even be functioning"

"Ve are in docking pozition Keptin if you vish to board da ship" Chekov nodded as he looked uneasily up at the ship, reading it's name for the others "Aldrin…huh"

"Alright, we're headin' aboard" Jim nodded as he stood "It's a search and rescue mission, but we also need to see what the hell they were doing out here in the sticks. Chekov, you're going with me aboard, I'll need you to analyze their star maps and trace their path. Scotty, can you hear me?"

"Aye Captain!" the exuberant man bellowed from behind his thick wall of glass infront of his station.

"You're tagging along too. I'll need you to figure what this was that torched their engines. Mr. Spock" Kirk turned to his friend to his left and eyed him carefully. He really hoped that he was making the right decision "You're coming with me aboard the ship"

"Pardon me Captain, but the rank of First Officer is to ensure someone to take charge in the event of the Captain being unable to return to duty, if we are both aboard that ship and suffer consequence which will prevent us from returning—"

"Death" Jim grinned. Spock rolled his eyes and continued

"…who will oversee the crew in both of our leaves?" Spock asked, raising a fine black brow "It would be logical for one of us to stay and monitor the crew"

"Aw, Spock! We used to hang out all the time, you know, running through psycho Romulan ships, marooning each other on ice planets---oh, wait…that was just you" Jim snickered as he slung an arm around the rigid shoulder's of the Vulcan in blue "…wassa matter, you scared?" he said just loud enough for Spock to hear.

Spock was not happy with the invasion of his precious personal space but did not pull away from Kirk, figuring it would do nothing but needless offended his commanding officer. He narrowed his eyes at Jim's accusations and leaned forward "I am ready to board when you are, Captain".

"Ah, Excellent!" Jim grinned and clapped Spock on the back before stepping away "Lt. Uhura, you're in charge until I return. If we lose communication…come save us!"

Nyota took on an innocent, horrified face as she adoringly ran her palms over the captain's chair "And risk my ship? Not a chance, Captain"

Jim rolled his eyes "Alright everyone, suit up. We have no idea whether the oxygen is working on that floating catastrophe, Bones--have your medical team on stand by for any survivors"

Once the quartet of Enterprise explorers were clad in their sleek space suits Jim took a deep, relaxing breath, it was cool. This would be good for everyone. A much needed change of pace! He glanced over his shoulder at Spock and grinned, offering a thumbs up. Spock merely arched a brow.

"I've never been on a field mizzon before" Chekov gulped, a little nervous to be out of his navigator's seat.

"It ain't so hard, laddie. Just keep your eyes up and ears open!" Scotty grinned "It's pretty exciting!"

Of course they were armed. Who knew what they would find on this ship? Scotty and Kirk had long range, power emphasized phasers, the barrels menacing and ready to fire. Chekov opted for a simple hand held, seeing as he wasn't that great a shot to begin with.

Spock carried both. A hand held clipped to the holster of his suit and the long range rifle type weapon slung over his back.

They stood in a seal platform inside the docking bay of the Enterprise. Very slowly the tunnel extended until it 'locked' with the adjacent Aldrin. Soon as the green lights above them indicated they were clear to enter the other ship, Jim raised a brow "Computer, Starfleet code 88261, Manual override, open"

Nothing.

"Damn" Jim snarled "Their entire system must be out. Scotty, do you mind?"

Scotty lifted his weapon and shot the panel to pieces. The double doors opened immediately.

"Scotty! I just wanted you to hotwire it!" Jim groaned, rubbing the outside of his helmet.

"My way was more fun" Scotty stuck his tongue out.

Chekov laughed a little until he saw Spock staring at him with a cold, arched brow. A silent reprimand. Immediate Chekov closed his mouth and looked down at his feet.

Inside, the Aldrin was dimly lit, only the small secondary lights along the side panels were on. This was a clear sign the ship was running on emergency power sources and all unnecessary functions had been shut down.

"Oxygen levels are stable." Spock determined with a quick scan of the environment with his handheld device "Clear". The glass of helmet slipped downwards to the front of his suit, offering more armor, and the head piece folded back like a hood. "The air is stale, old" he noted.

"This thing has been empty for a while" Jim breathed with slightly wide blue eyes "what the fuck happened here?"

"If ve can git to da bridge, I can access da star maps" Chekov asserted with a nod.

"Alright, you heard the kid. Everyone fan out and keep your guard up. This place is hella creepy"

The only sound resonating through the empty skeleton of the ship was their footsteps and occasionally Scotyt's muttered prayers. He glanced around in an almost paranoid fashion. Jim had thought to steal a glance to his Vulcan companion, but his mind was too focused forward, weary of what may be lurking around each corner.

"There are no bodies" Spock noted once they reached the bridge. The place was a total wreck, loose, live wires sparking all over the place, chairs, tables, entire side panels ripped from the walls. He leaned forward to tap a few buttons on one of the helm computers "All evacuation pods are accounted for, no one left this ship"

"Then where in bloody mary did they all go?" Scotty breathed. His sweating was becoming more profuse as he kept his weapon poised to attack.

"That's what we're gonna find out, Scotty. You and Chekov see what you can get outta the records, Spock and I will cover you" Jim instructed.

Reluctantly the Chief Engineering Officer began to type on the various computers, trying to see what he may find.

"So…whatcha think? Kind of exciting?" Jim asked Spock with a hopeful grin "Sure beats doing paperwork all day"

"Captain" Spock spoke in a low, almost predatory manner "…we are not alone"


End file.
